Thursday, March 1, 2007

Sarkozy's apartment dominates news

The English language news world is buzzing over two things today: Nicolas Sarkozy's foreign policy speech, and perhaps more importantly, the allegations that he received a substantial discount in the purchase of an apartment in Neuilly.

The couple paid about €876,000 (£590,000) for the apartment - between 12% and 35% less than the per-metre price of other apartments bought in the same building during the same period, the report said.

The newspaper also alleged that the building's property developer did free renovations on the apartment, including fitting a polished oak staircase, marble flooring and extensive shelving and bookcases.

Sarkozy has of course denied the charges, and so has the developer that sold the apartment. Interestingly, this is not the first time that Sarkozy's apartment has come up in the campaign.

Asked last weekend in a television interview what he would do if he won the lottery, Mr Sarkozy said he would buy a house. "I don't have one. I had an apartment and sold it. I am now renting. I have dreamt for a long time about buying a house for my family," he said.